A late replacement for Rachid Boumalek, Vatnikaj Valdeim was the heavy underdog against 67 kg tournament favorite, Singmanee. Valdeim opened strong in the first round, connecting with a sweep and some clean punches. In the second things become one way traffic for the Thai. Singmanee landed two rounds of brutal unanswered body and leg kicks to take home the comfortable decision win. I don't see anyone in the current field stopping him based on last night.

Mehdi Zatout def. Shan Cangelosi by TKO (Cut) in Round 1.

This fight was on un-aired on Channel 3 due to time constraints. Minutes into the match, Zatout landed a elbow that caused a deep cut above Cangelosi's eye Doctors stopped the bout shortly afterwards.

Andrei Kulebin def. Crice Boussoukou by decision.

Although Kulebin was the favorite to win, Crice impressed me tonight. The two had a fairly back and forth fight until Kulebin barely nudged it out in the third round. This is even more impressive considering Andrei has over 100 wins, and Crice has only 25 total fights. Watch for him in the future.

Adaylton Pareira De Freitas def. Houcine Bennoui by decision.

In the biggest upset of the night, Houcine Bennoui was clearly outranged and outscored by Adaylton Freitas. Bennoui came into the tournament riding a win over Singmanee, so most expected a rematch of their previous encounter. Freitas spoiled that though, using superior distancing skills to keep Bennoui off-balance the whole night,and cut him open with an elbow in the second round.

70 kg:

Buakaw Por Pramuk def. Mauro Serra by TKO (Knee) in Round 3.

This went basically how everyone expected. Although Mauro Serras was game to trade, Buakaw dominated each encounter, knocking down Serras in the first with an elbow (Although he receieved no count) and then two more times in the third round with punches and a knee to finish. It's always good to see Buakaw in action, but this tournament is essentially a highlight reeel waiting to happen.

Nishikawa Tomoyuki def. Choi Woo Yeong by decision.

This was the first match of the night, and an exciting one at that. Tomoyuki landed the better punches and low-kicks throughout, although Woo Yeong stayed right with him until the end.

Antero Hynynen def. Shannon King by decision.

It's difficult to judge how Antero Hynynen will do against the rest of the 70 kg field because his opponent didn't come to thaibox. King came out swinging for the fences in round one, using very few kicks, knees, or elbows. He fought like he was in a kickboxing or boxing tournament, and was completely outworked by Hynynen's low kicks until the final bell.

Vitaly Gurkov def. Fares Bechar by decision.

Gurkov shocked the world earlier this year when he beat Kem Sitsongpeenong at the IFMA 2012 tournament. He looked in good shape against Bechar, dominating with his rough, grinding style and winning the final two rounds by a large margin. I expect Gurkov will be Buakaw's biggest challenge, although I still don't see him winning by any stretch.